In the south during July you would expect some hot & sticky weather. On
Thursday, July 6th 2006 as I crossed the Mississippi River on route 60, twice,
going from Kentucky, 1 mile of Illinois, and then on in to Missouri with my
friends, Ron Bien, and Steve ‘Polecat’ Snead, I could just tell I was in for a
treat as we headed for Eureka Springs Arkansas where we were about to PIF a true
Patriot. The weather was a comfortable 64 degrees with low humidity as we
started our second day of the trip, and the forecast was to remain the same for
our entire trip. Cool, comfortable, and a slight risk of emotional. Emotional
because we were on our way to meet some old friends, and make some new ones, and
share what proved to be an awesome event.

PIF 06 was our 4th official event as PIF. Gary ‘Bear’ McQueen convinced us that
we needed to go to Arkansas this year to see all the beauty offered up by the
Ozarks, and we were not disappointed. After kicking around some ideas amongst
our friends we decided that Eureka Springs would make a great place for us to
go. There were beautiful roads to ride, plenty of hotels and restaurants, so all
we need now is to find our gathering place/campground. Bear and Ultra Steve
looked in to a couple of options then finally settled on Wanderlust. Wow! What a
find! Wanderlust turned out to be one of the highlights for me. Jim & Cindy
Hilligas, owners of Wanderlust, are some of the friendliest folks you’ll meet.
They will jump through hoops to make sure your stay is a comfortable one. They
pride their campground on cleanliness, and comfort. I camped the way I love to
camp best. In a plush air-conditioned cabin complete with coffee maker, shower,
and all the amenities you would expect from a fancy hotel. If you find yourself
in Eureka Springs, I highly recommend Wanderlust whether you’re a hard-core
camper, or a….camper like myself.

As I mentioned, we needed to find a PIFie, and Ultra Steve went to work on that.
He did a great job communicating, and researching. He communicated with
different folks, but eventually connected with the Chamber of Commerce, who then
hooked him up with Sarah from the food bank. Sarah considered some people from
the criteria Steve gave her, and convinced us that Harold would be a great
candidate. Harold is a Vietnam Vet who was awarded the Purple Heart for an
incident that happened to him while in a foxhole. He was hit in the shoulder by
a big shell, which was similar to a grenade that bounced off of him, and then
blew up. When this happened, it literally missed the three other guys in the
foxhole, but injured Harold with severe burns. You and I may think he was in the
wrong hole at the wrong time, but that isn’t how Harold looks at it. He
considers it being at the right hole at the right time because three guys were
uninjured, and he figure God had a plan. Because of the fact he survived and is
still with us, he believes that more now than ever, and has come to the food
bank to help do whatever he can do to help others. He consistently puts other
people ahead of himself and serves his fellow man.

Now, I mentioned the Chamber of Commerce. Well, they were happy to hear what we
were up to so they wanted to do something for us. Ultra Steve always brings his
weenies from Michigan so we can have a weenie roast, and the Chamber of Commerce
supplied all the condiments, chips, watermelon, cases of pop, and a big cake.
That was so nice of them, and is something we’ll never forget. We also have some
new members from Eureka Springs now too. Along with Marvin & Donna Shepard and
Jeff Feldman, from the Chamber of Commerce, Jim & Cindy from Wanderlust is now a
part of our group too. One of our members, Joe Austin, even seems to get special
treatment from them too, but you’ll have to ask him about that. I’m not about to
tell you how he takes of on excursions with them in the golf cart, or the
shuttle bus, and comes back with icing on his face from some rolls they provided
us with.

Bear led us on a great ride Friday, which started off kind of rocky. Deb Gentry
had a mishap in a curve, but came out of it ok with some scratches. She kept her
sense of humor, and said her body was now in Technicolor from the bruises. After
that, we continued on our ride down route 23 in to
Pig
Trail where we saw a switchback curve covered with feathers. Apparently we
just missed a chicken hauler that had an accident there. After the
Pig
trail we got on to route 7 where Bear lead us to a beautiful stop for a
snack, and a view at the Cliff House Inn.
As we started to mount up to ride back to Eureka Springs, we were buzzed by 2
low flying C-130’s, which looked like they were headed right for us, and then
climbed to a higher altitude. That was exciting to see. We headed back to camp
where we made it home in time for Ultra Steve’s weenie roast. Steve and Ron Bien
were slaving away over the campfire roasting the weenies, and Joanie, Lois
Robinson and others were setting up the social room for our feast. After the
feast, Curtis Pierce held an auction that turned out to be quite successful.
Everyone was very generous, and there was some pretty stiff competition on some
bids. When the bidding was over it was my turn to do the raffle, and we had many
prizes to hand out. The big prize was a beautiful ring, donated by Ultra Steve,
and won by Mike Robinson who promptly gave it to his lovely bride Lois. Timing
was excellent since they just celebrated an anniversary.

Saturday was the day we all were waiting for. It was the day of the PIF. That
wasn’t going to happen until 8pm so we went for another ride. This time some of
us we went over to Oklahoma for the heck of it, and others rode to Lamberts to
have rolls thrown at them. My bet is Curtis and Mike didn’t let one of them
rolls hit the ground either. The plan was to meet up at a local restaurant at
6pm for dinner. For all of those who showed up they got a ticket. Ultra Steve
had another surprise for us. This time it was a beautiful watch. Jim Snoke was
the lucky winner of the watch. Ok, now that dinner is over with we head to the
parking lot, mount up and had a little parade of our own. 28 motorcycles went 8
miles to the McDonalds where we planned to introduce ourselves to Harold, with
some help from Sarah. We all waited outside while Sarah enticed Harold to come
outside to look at all the motorcycles. When he got out there, Curtis was there
to greet him, and start the PIF. Way to go Curtis, you did an outstanding job,
and there weren’t too many dry eyes to be found, including Harold’s. After
Curtis’s presentation folks lined up to shake hands, and hug Harold, and to also
thank him for his service, and to welcome him home. Something that never
happened to him, or other vets for quite some time. After that, we mounted the
bikes, and headed back to camp. This was the sad part, as tomorrow was the day
to head home.

The amount raise this year was $3533. $3233 went to Harold, $200 to the food
bank, and $100 for Wanderlust for use of the social room and pavilion.